I've no idea why this series has gotten such middling reviews, it's fucking hilarious. If Extras were Seinfeld, this would be Curb Your Enthusiasm. Davis is brilliant as the delusional twat who can't catch a break & the comedy teeth-grindingly awkward & uncomfortable. A fantastic show.

Neeson destroyed ("I wasn't at the store yesterday. I was at the doctors. I've got AIDS."). I want more of him intimidating those two into hearing his stuff. Great detail of him not understanding why Gervais gets away with making "controversial" jokes.

A little underwhelmed by the rest of it. You can tell Davis is trying and the material is solid, but he's just not a particularly funny guy in my opinion.

Here's a good read analyzing the vastly different portrayals of "little people" on TV: Warwick Davis vs. Tyrion Lannister.

The author of the piece seems to believe Game of Thrones elevates them, while this show - whether intentional or not - denigrates them. What do you all think?

The guy comes off as a little tone deaf to me. I see the point he's trying to make, but I'm not sure he's on-target with his criticism. The Helena Bonham Carter bit, for instance - which, granted, I haven't seen - strikes me as mining humor from prejudice against dwarfs, and not so much in humiliating one.

Ricky Gervais gets a lot of shit for being smug and mean-spirited, but people who accuse him of that must have never seen "The Office" or "Extras". His shows treat their protagonists with absolute ruthlessness, and he doesn't pull any punches even when it's him in the role. To suggest that Warwick Davis can't take the piss out of himself for a laugh because of his dwarfism I find even more condescending and denigrating than anything that article was complaining about.

The cool thing about Davis in the show is that it demonstrates that he's just like every other asshole in the world. His wife leaves him, he's forced to deal with his incompetent accountant, he has to worry about bills, his clients, his office, his career, his dating life, etc. Show me another show where you see a dwarf have deal with normal, everyday bullshit.

Watch the Bonham-Carter bit before forming an opinion because it's off-base. The humor in that bit comes from Carter's crazy prejudice (against dwarves? against actors that are low on the food chain? who knows) & the set-up makes you, the audience, relate even further with Davis because he looks at the camera with a hilarious "Can you believe this crazy bitch?!" look on his face & you're laughing at it, thinking, "I know, right?".

Been catching up with this show, and so far I think I like it more than love it. It's really the same format as Extras, only with Davis. He does a great job (Love the scene when he falls out of the Range Rover, dusts himself off and gives the camera a quick 'Fuck off' look before walking off) but agree with VTRan that the dialogue does feel very scripted. Also, the incompetent assistant feels utterly out of place here; there's nothing wrong with her performance per se, in fact she'd be great in a more traditional sitcom, but it's too broad for mockumentary and she sticks out like a sore thumb.

Nut fuck, can I not stop laughing at the thought of Neeson's scene. That was an instant classic.

the incompetent assistant feels utterly out of place here; there's nothing wrong with her performance per se, in fact she'd be great in a more traditional sitcom, but it's too broad for mockumentary and she sticks out like a sore thumb.

You're probably right that she belongs in a different show, but still I think the gormless assistant is brilliant. They need to do a spin off romantic sitcom with her and Pilkington (trivia: knew I recognized her from somewhere, turns out she's "do you wanna suck me tits?" punk girl from the excellent Shane Meadows film This is England).

Second episode was much better overall in my opinion, loved the convention autograph stuff.

The washing machine scene alone justifies the existence of the assistant. That destroyed me the first time I saw it.

Has to be one of the oldest, most played-out gags in the history of comedy, without exaggeration. But his fucking REACTION when he realises what happened . . . oh man, I seriously couldn't breathe, I was laughing so hard.

Haven't gotten to the washing machine scene yet, so will hold judgement. But Disciple, you might be onto a slice of genius there with the assistant/Pilkington romance. That's an idea that's hilarious and terrifying all at once.

Looking forward to the fabled washing machine scene. Changed my mind on Davis, he's no Steve Coogan or anything, but he is quite good.

Last episode I got was the one where he works with Helena Bonham Carter, and confronts his online nemesis. I pretty much saw the classroom scene coming, but still that's a pretty harsh place to go for laughs, even for Gervais.

I have to ask since I haven't seen everything Gervais has been involved with- is this show the darkest thing he's ever done? I mean that suicide discussion with the incompetent accountant, Dennis, Cheggers, and Barry from Eastenders was just cruel. And the dwarf material is so uncomfortably close to the line, I'm not sure if I should admire Davis for being brave enough to do it, or pity him. There's definitely something brilliant about this show, but the only time I really laugh now is when Cheryl is onscreen.

So I just watched this On demand. Sure im a few years late but hey.....anyway I kind of loved it. So funny and yet so vicious. Honestly I never found anything belittling about the ways dwarves were treated. It all just felt kind of honest really.